Waterbury evening Democrat., 1887-12-10
THE WATERBURY EVENING DEMOCRAT SATURDAY DEG To- 1887

and almost beyond the pale of humanity. 1t was thought that we were selected TOT our desperate character and therefore would require an extraordinary amount of guarding to prevent us from escaping or doing further injury. Such considera- tlons no doubt had weight in the minds of our captors.
 But these alone are not sufficient to ex- plain the story that follows. I have hesf- tated in regard to telling it at all; but there IS at least one good reason for re- cording all that the proprieties of Ian guage will permit-a reason which also goes far to account for the full horrors experienced. Nothing better shows the spirit of the institution of slavery, and the debasing effect it produces on the master class Those in whose power we now fell had been used to seeing men, women and children publicly sold, whip ped, hunted with dogs, or shut up like wild beasts in dens. With such experi- ences they would not be likely to care much for the sufferings of enemies, whom they had come to regard as the friends of the enslaved race. Accordingly it is in the negro prisons that our band found their most fearful experiences.
 The story of the little, old, Chattanooga prison cannot be fully told. Terrible hardships which had to be lived through in agonies of shuddering disgust, and in utterly helpless disregard of the decencies of life-a daily and unceasing combina- tion of pain and loathing-can hardly be told by one friend to another, much less spread on the cold printed page The reader will remember that for every pain full thing related, a dozen more are be- hind, which dare not be named. Let it be understood that there is no exaggera- tion. Photographic accuracy, within the limits already indicated, is aimed at. This worst of all the prisons has long since been swept away; but it's memory will never grow faint while one of it's hapless victims survives. The story rests not alone on my evidence, but is estab- lished by sworn testimony published in the war records.
 The captain, who was appointed my and led me for some distance through the streets of Chattanooga. Two of the Con- federate soldiers linked arms with me, one on each side, two walked in front and four followed behind. I could not help telling the captain that they took better care of our men than we did of theirs; that had once guarded 0 Georgian 8 long distance without any help, and with no handcuffs on him. He did not resent the implied reproach, only saying that they meant to make sure of me! At length we came to a little brick building, surrounded by 8 high board fence. It stood, as I learned long afterward, on Lookout street between Fourth and Fifth. The ground slopad rapidly upward, so that the back of the jail was built into the hill while the front was level with the sur face of the ground. The jail had two stories with two rooms in each story. It was quite high for it's length and breadth. The jailer ard family lived in the upper and lower rooms at the north end, and the rooms at the south were the prisons, the lower being entered only from the upper, and that in turn only from the jailer's room. This prison when built was intended for the accommodation of negroes by their humane owners. An other and much larger prison, in which were confined the great majority of white offenders and afterward of war prisoners, was situated on Fourth and Market streets.
 Swims, the jailer, was peculiar char acter. He was old, perhaps GO, with abundant white hair, and dry and with cred face. His voice was always keyed on whining tone, except when some great cause, such as tho requests of pris-
 
 aroused his ire, when it rose to a hoarse scream. Avarice was strong trait. He seemed to think his accommodations vastly too good for negroes and "Yan- kees,' and that when admitted to his hospitality they should be thankful and give as little trouble as possible. With such notions it is easily seen how much he could add to the sufferings of prison CTS. One thing favorable was that he was fond of dram, and when indulging became very talkative, revealing many things that we could not otherwise have learned.
 We halted for 8 moment at the camp fire of the guard outside the gate; then Swims came out, grumbling about their being disturbed so much, and, unlocking the gate, admitted us. We crossed the yard, ascended the long outside stairway, and from an outside landing entered the bedroom. From this door opened into the prison. The room was quite small, square, and entirely destitute of furniture of any kind except long ladder, which lay on the floor. There were five or six o1d, miserable looking men Ill the room, whose clothes hung in tatters, and who presented a terribly starved, dirty and wretched appearance. 1t was Q dreadful place, and shuddered at the idea of talk ing up my abode in such a den. But soon found I was not to be so highly favored, and little more experience was sufficient to make me look almost with envy upon these old men.
 Said the jailer to the captain: "Where shall put him?''
 ''Below, of course, :" was the prompt reply.